The present invention generally relates to purchasing systems, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns a sales system adapted to dynamically price goods and/or services over a computer network.
With the recent explosion in Internet commerce, the amount of stolen or pirated content has been on the rise. Encryption systems, such as Secured Digital Music Interface (SDMI), can be circumvented by hackers so that songs contained therein are freely available. For example, point-to-point (peer-to-peer) (P2P) programs, such as Napster and Gnutella, have made it very easy for a person to copy copyrighted material without compensating the author or artist. Consumers who download the pirated content believe that it is “free”; when in actuality they are “stealing” the author's work. Current intellectual property laws are not comprehensive enough and have not quickly adapted to cover this developing technology. Since intellectual property rights vary internationally, enforcement of those rights across national boundaries can be difficult. Although suits against P2P providers, such as Napster, have been successful, the cost and time involved in achieving a successful result can be prohibitive. Moreover, systems like Gnutella do not require a central index server for maintaining a list of users. This decentralized approach makes it nearly impossible to shutdown such systems since there is no central operator to target for suit. Pursuing legal remedies against individual users who break copyright laws only antagonizes the public further and creates further animosity towards the recording, movie, software and publishing industries.
Due to their popularity, the P2P swapping services, like Napster and Gnutella, have dramatically increased network loads of institutions where such services are extremely popular, like colleges and universities. To combat the increased network loads, universities have denied students access to such services across their networks. Thus, these services are severely hampered in contacting an extremely desirable demographic of consumers, students.
Therefore, there has been a long-felt need for a system to provide digital media priced so that content suppliers can make a profit, and at the same time provide an incentive for consumers to purchase and not steal content.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method comprises determining a first price of an item in a first group for sale utilizing a processor, offering the item in the first group for sale at the first price, selling one or more orders for the item in the first group at the first price to a purchaser, delivering the item to the purchaser, pricing the item at a second price with the processor based at least on the one or more sales of the item at the first price, and offering the item for sale at the second price. The pricing includes at least one of: (i) determining if a profit at the first price is at least equal to a best profit for one or more previous price levels for the item with the processor and increasing the first price to the second price if the profit at the first price is at least equal to the best profit for the one or more previous price levels for the item, wherein the second price is greater than the first price, or (ii) determining if the profit at the first price is less than the best profit for the one or more previous price levels with the processor and reducing the first price to the second price if the profit at the first price is less than the best profit for the one or more previous price levels, wherein the second price is less than the first price.
Other forms, embodiments, objects, features, advantages, benefits, and aspects of the present invention shall become apparent from the detailed drawings and description contained herein.